Friday, December 3, 2010

I adopted two full grown 16 pound male cats from California recently. Yes, you read that right...16 pounds! Keeping the litter box fresh and odors eliminated can be a challenge. You can have pets without your home eventually smelling like your beloved animals! The other challenge is saving money on litter products without sacrificing quality.

Crystal cat litter is a products that I've never experienced until now. I'll admit that it's too expensive for my budget, not to mention I'm a skeptic. I want a product that is safe for my cats, humans and the environment. When visiting various online litter companies, I came across Just The Crystals and enjoyed what I read so I dropped them a line and here we are!

Double bonus! Safe for cats and recycled materials are used!

Safe for cats:

Commercially available crystal cat litters have been extensively tested and are safe for your cat. Its basic chemical makeup can be closely compared to sand. The industrial name for it is silica gel, which is non-crystalline, porous and a safe substance most commonly used to absorb excess moisture in flowers and food or to protect materials such as leather or computer equipment from humidity.

Fragrance free, conveniently packaged* -- and all packaging is fully recyclable!
*2 pre-measured, recyclable bags, each weighing 4.4lbs, for a total of 8.8lbs of premium crystals. All packaging is fully recyclable -- and our boxes are made from recycled cardboard!

What about the price? You can purchase Just The Crystals through Amazon with FREE shipping for $15.95 for two pre-measured bags which can last up to 30 days when used properly and kept in a dry place away from moisture. Grocery and Department stores can be insanely high when it comes to purchasing crystals!

I'm sold, it's worth a shot to save money and use a quality product. While I do have the product in my home right now, I haven't used it long enough to really experience the product fully. I cannot give an accurate opinion on it as of yet. However, I am pleased so far with the results and used a tip shared on Just The Crystals about sprinkling a light layer of baking soda in the bottom of the litter box to help prevent odors.

Crystal litter Properties
(exerpted from Wikipedia)

Silica gel litter, often referred to as "crystal litter", is a porous granular form of sodium silicate and has the highest absorbency of any litter. It has excellent moisture control and complete odor elimination for an extended period of time compared to other litters.

Some praise its absorbency because 4 to 5 lb (2+ kg) can absorb liquid and odor for up to 30 days for one healthy normal weight cat. It is important to lightly stir the crystals daily while scooping the solid waste, otherwise urine can pool in the box. When crystal litter is saturated, at the end of 30 days or so, it begins to smell and is visibly saturated. In comparison, over the same time period it may take 20–30 lb (9–14 kg) or more of clay or clumping litter, because it is necessary to replenish the litter that is removed when the clumped urine is scooped out. No replenishing is necessary with silica gel (crystal) litter.

Others have claimed that this litter gives them no warning when it is saturated and their cat left a urine puddle at the bottom of the pan. But as mentioned above, this litter will eventually begin to smell when the crystals can no longer hold any more urine. Also, as the crystals absorb the urine odorlessly, they turn from white (or blue) to slightly yellow. This is when a crystal is 'visibly saturated'. It is easy to determine when this litter needs changing because you can either smell urine (the crystals are over saturated) or you can no longer see any white (or blue) crystals.

How about a giveaway?! Just The Crystals has generously offered to sponsor a giveaway!

WIN IT:

TWO winners will each win 2 boxes of Just The Crystals cat litter! That is 4 pre-measured bags of litter crystals per winner!

HOW TO ENTER:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit Just The Crystals and tell me something else you learned that I didn't post here.

Giveaway is open to US residents 18+ , Void in Hawaii & Alaska

BONUS ENTRIES: Please leave a separate comment for each entry you complete. Each of the following are worth 1 Entry unless specified otherwise. This is a 1x entry giveaway for each entry. However, you may tweet daily.

*What litter do you normally use?*What do you prefer...Clay, Clump or Crystals?*Follow my blog on Google friend connect*Follow my RSS Feed or Subscribe to my feed burner*Blog about this giveaway*Grab my button*Follow me on twitter @mrsmiki77 & tweet about this giveaway. Come back and post your "tweet" link and username. You may tweet daily.

Giveaway will end on December 31, 2010 at 11:59 pm CST

Winner will be chosen and contacted by email. You must reply within 48 hours with your shipping address or another winner will be chosen. Once shipping information has been received, I will then contact the sponsor with your information so that they can mail out your prize. Sorry, per sponsor, P.O. Boxes will not be accepted.

PRIVACY POLICY: I will not sell, rent, or share your personal information with anyone other than the sponsor of this giveaway. Entrants will not receive any emails from 'Little Bit Of This And That' with the exception of contacting and staying in touch with the winner until prize has been fulfilled.

DISCLAIMER:
I received a sample of crystal cat litter from Just The Crystals to share the product with my readers. However, I have posted my own unbiased opinions on these product. All opinions are strictly my own and true.

**ALL QUOTES & PHOTOGRAPHS ARE PROPERTY OF Just The Crystals AND ARE NOT TO BE USED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM THE OWNER**

Unused cat litter is safe for handling by pregnant women. However, pregnant women should avoid handling used cat litter. Toxoplasmosis, an illness characterized by cold or flu-like symptoms, can be transmitted by cat feces. It is especially serious in pregnant women because it can cause birth defects. Immunosuppressed persons may also be susceptible to toxoplasmosis. For further information, consult your doctor.

kaccat
said...

Don't really use just one kind but rather buy whatever is on sale. Just bought Tidy Cat but last time it was Scoop Away.

kaccat
said...

Switched from clay to clumping about 3 years ago. With 7 indoor kitties it probably ends up costing about the same or less than the clay did.

Anonymous
said...

This Litter is Fragrance free which is a Good thing as Kats have stong noses and do not like things that smell to strong!

I did learn that if you can place the litter box where there's a breeze, the litter will last a lot longer. Or, you can try what I've recently done: put a small fan above the box, so that it constantly blows air down onto the litter.

I learned its basic chemical makeup can be closely compared to sand. The industrial name for it is silica gel, which is non-crystalline, porous and a safe substance most commonly used to absorb excess moisture in flowers and food or to protect materials such as leather or computer equipment from humidity.I've seen small packets of this in some of the things I buy where moisture could damage the product.

This stuff was originally used in automatic cat litter boxes and used to absorb moisture from electronics and other things that could be damaged in transport from excess moisture.hey dot 4horses at yahoo dot com

Welcome

Welcome and thank you for visiting!

My name is Michele. I am a happily married mother of two. Formerly a California native, I relocated to a small town in Mississippi in 2006. I enjoy casual blogging, but I am definitely interested in hosting a review and/or giveaway for your company.

Michele’s Little World is PR friendly, and I’d be happy to discuss an opportunity that you may have for me: